The present invention relates to a part mounting structure for mounting a part such as an upholstering material in the interior of an automobile, e.g. a trim board, carpet fastening plate, on an automobile body panel using two members, i.e. a leaf spring member and a clip member.
Part mounting structures of this type have heretofore been proposed, such as, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Public Disclosure No. 57-149312.
The conventional part mounting structure is adapted to mount a part having a boss portion projecting integrally from the back side thereof on a body panel having a mounting oblong hole formed therein at a position corresponding to the position of the boss portion, and comprises a U-shaped leaf spring member made of metal for admitting the boss portion of the part and fixing the same thereto, a clip member made of synthetic resin for admitting the leaf spring member and engaging pieces and inwardly folded check pieces formed on the opposite side walls of the U-shaped leaf spring member. The clip member is formed into a cylindroid conforming to the shape of the mounting oblong hole and is provided on the inner wall thereof with stepped portions engaging with the engaging pieces and on the outer wall thereof on the long side of the cylindroid integrally with a pair of engaging portions engaging with the edge of the mounting oblong hole of the panel.
Where a part having a boss portion is mounted on a body panel by the use of the clip member and leaf spring member, at first the clip member and the leaf spring member are united into an integral unit by inserting the leaf spring member into the interior of the clip member to cause the engaging pieces of the leaf spring member to engage with the stepped portions of the clip member, thereafter the clip member is engaged with the mounting oblong hole of the body panel through the engaging portion and flange portion thereof, and subsequently the boss portion of the part is inserted between the opposite side walls of the U-shaped leaf spring member to cause the check pieces to wedge into the surface of the boss portion from the opposite sides thereof, thereby fixing the boss portion between the opposite side walls of the leaf spring member. The part is thus mounted on the body panel.
However, since a part such as a trim board has a plurality of boss portions projecting therefrom at regular intervals and the body panel has the same number of mounting oblong holes formed therein at the corresponding positions, if there are errors in position from which any of the boss portions projects and in position at which any of the mounting oblong holes is formed and/or there is an error in dimension between the mounting holes and the clip members, it will become impossible to engage all clip members with the mounting oblong holes with exactitude or to insert and fix all boss portions relative to the leaf spring members with exactitude. This makes it impossible to mount the part on the panel in a satisfactory and stable state.
In the conventional part mounting structure, since the clip member is engaged in the mounting oblong hole by mere engagement between the pair of engaging portions formed on the outer wall surface of the clip member on the long side of the cylindroid and the edge of the mounting oblong hole, a firmly engaged state of the clip member cannot be obtained and, since the boss portion is engaged with the leaf spring member by mere wedging of the flat edges of the check pawls into the surface of the boss portion, the force for fixing the boss portion is small from the outset. Thus, the conventional part mounting structure is disadvantageous in that the state of the mounted part is very instable.